As misinformation 'spreads like wildfire,' Wisconsin Elections Commission seeks new office of inspector general

MADISON - The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission voted to create a new office within the agency aimed at responding to misinformation, complaints and requests for records that have skyrocketed since former President Donald Trump began spreading false claims about Wisconsin's elections.

Commissioners voted 6-0 to ask state lawmakers to approve the proposal to create an Elections Inspector General program, which would cost about $1.3 million in the next two-year state budget and include 10 full-time staff members.

Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said the state commission needs more resources to respond to inquiries from the public that have ballooned since the 2020 election, when the commission became a target of Trump and supporters who believed his false claims of widespread voter fraud.

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"This office would not be about dwelling in the past or giving credence to claims that threaten the credibility of Wisconsin’s accurate and secure elections," she said at a Wednesday meeting.

In the proposal, WEC staff said "warding off attempts of electoral manipulation — both real and perceived — remains the highest priority of the WEC. It must be in order to instill public confidence in Wisconsin’s elections system and to ensure election integrity."

Before 2020, the elections commission received on average 15 formal complaints per year, according to the commission. Since then, the number has grown to more than 50. Records requests from the public also have ballooned, to more than 130 so far in 2022 — up from fewer than 15 in 2019.

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"Current staffing levels are inadequate to handle the post-2020 volume," Wolfe said. Wolfe said the added staff dedicated solely to public inquiries and complaints will combat the misinformation that "spreads like wildfire."

Republican commission chairman Don Millis said the proposal's intention is not to explore baseless election theories.

"This is not a proposal to pursue unfounded theories — what it is is to determine the facts and communicate effectively with those who have legitimate concerns," he said.

The commission has been under fire for two years because of policies it approved during the 2020 presidential election to navigate hurdles presented by the coronavirus pandemic — decisions that have been characterized as nefarious by former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who led a review of the last president election for more than a year, and the Racine County sheriff.

The commission mailed absentee ballot applications to all voters, advised local officials on how to make ballot drop boxes secure and set new policies for voting in nursing homes. State law requires clerks to send poll workers to nursing homes, but the commission told the clerks to send residents absentee ballots because nursing homes weren't allowing visitors during the pandemic. The decision also ensured there was enough time for ballots to be returned and counted.

Few Republicans criticized the commission's decisions when they made them but called out the agency after Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump in the state. Recounts and court rulings have confirmed Biden's win.

Since then, scrutiny of the commission has ballooned.

Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers has backed the commission's actions while his Republican challenger Tim Michels has proposed to dissolve the agency and eliminate every rule election clerks follow.

Michels, who is endorsed by Trump, has said he would consider decertifying the 2020 election and proposed to replace the commission with a new elections board but has not answered questions about how the board would work.

Commissioners on Wednesday voted to change the structure of the office before approving the proposal to make the Elections Inspector General a position appointed by the commission administrator.

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Now, the proposal goes to the governor who will decide whether to include it in his next budget proposal to state lawmakers. Lawmakers will then decide whether to keep, modify or eliminate the proposal while writing the 2023-25 state budget next year.

"The inability to address public concerns promptly and completely frustrates citizens and harms public confidence in election processes," commission staff wrote in their proposal.

"The staffing needs of our agency have evolved, in the same way that elections technology and the voting process itself has evolved. The elections landscape in Wisconsin has changed and we are at a crossroads of public understanding, confidence, and support for elections administration."

Britt Cudaback, spokeswoman for Evers, called the proposal an unfortunate consequence of "Republicans' dangerous rhetoric" surrounding elections.

"Gov. Evers welcomes additional efforts to combat Republican misinformation, continue bolstering election security, and ensure every eligible voter can cast their ballot in Wisconsin, and he looks forward to reviewing the Elections Commission’s request as part of the biennial budget process," Cudaback said.

A spokeswoman for Michels did not respond to whether Michels would include WEC's proposal in the state budget plan the governor will submit to the Legislature next year.

Rep. Mark Born, a Republican co-chairman of the Legislature's budget-writing committee, said in a statement that the committee will consider whatever proposals the governor makes to them.

"This proposal is in the very early stages of the budget process and will need to make it through several more steps before coming to the Joint Committee on Finance for consideration," he said.

"JFC will, as usual, consider the executive budget and requests that are presented to the committee during the upcoming legislative budget season, which is in the first half of next year."

Committee co-chairman Sen. Howard Marklein declined to comment.

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Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Elections Commission seeks new office of inspector general